The UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-member Board of Governors on Thursday approved a resolution calling on Iran to promptly clarify the status of its enriched uranium and the condition of atomic sites hit in June by US and Israeli strikes.
The measure renews and updates the International Atomic Energy Agency’s reporting mandate on Iran’s nuclear program. It also urges Tehran to grant inspectors immediate access to verify information about its nuclear materials and facilities, according to the diplomats cited by Reuters.
A senior European diplomat told an Iran International reporter ahead of the vote that the resolution would pass easily, saying that “the draft has the necessary support.” The diplomat added that discussions on Iran’s compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty began Wednesday night and resumed Thursday morning before the vote.
The resolution, submitted by the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, urges Iran to “act strictly in accordance” with the Additional Protocol, which allows for snap inspections, and to resume full cooperation with the IAEA. It follows a recent agency report that said Iran has not allowed inspectors to access damaged sites or provided a full accounting of uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity, close to weapons grade.
Iran has warned that any new resolution would damage what it described as “a positive course of cooperation” with the agency. Tehran says it has cut cooperation under a law passed by parliament and will not resume it until its demands under the Non-Proliferation Treaty are met.
The Western powers’ draft stops short of declaring Iran in breach of its obligations but increases diplomatic pressure on Tehran to restore monitoring and transparency.
